Closure latch



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n l Bx 2 Sheets-Sheet- 2 Filed @r11 18. l1968 ATTORNEY United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 292-216 4 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE The vehicle body door lock includes a detent for holding the bolt in latched position and an outside operating lever coupled to the vdetent through an intermittent member. The intermittent member may be uncoupled from the detent by a locking lever. A blocking member coaxially pivoted with the detent is moved by the bolt to a blocking position wherein it blocks movement of the locking lever when the bolt is in unlatched position. A tension spring rotates the blocking lever to unblocking position when the bolt moves to latched position.

This invention relates to closure latches and more particularly to vehicle body door locks.

The door lock of this invention is of the type including a shifta'ble member connected to the outside operating means and movable between coupled and uncoupled positions -with respect to the detent to thereby selectively connect and disconnect the detent and the operating means. The shiftable member is movable between its coupled and uncoupled positions by a locking lever which is controlled through an inside garnish button and an outside key cylinder assembly. If the shiftable member is shifted to uncoupled position when the door is open and the operating means actuated as the door is thereafter closed, the shiftable member will remain in this position to provide keyless locking. Thus, it is possible for the operator to lock himself out of the car.

In order to prevent such keyless locking when the door is open, the lock of this invention includes blocking means blocking any movement of the locking lever when the bolt is in unlatched position. In the preferred embodiment, the blocking means includes a blocking lever movable between `blocking and unblocking positions with respect to the locking lever and resiliently biased toward unblocking position. The blocking lever includes a sensing foot which is engaged by the bolt as the bolt moves to unlatched position to move the blocking lever against the biasing means to blocking position wherein it blocks any movement of the locking lever. Thus, each time that the door is opened, the blocking lever blocks any movement of the locking lever, and the shiftable member must remain in coupled position unless the door is rst closed and then either the key cylinder assembly or the garnish button operated.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a vehicle door lock which includes a shiftable member for coupling an operating means to a detent and a blocking arrangement for blocking movement of the shiftable meinber to uncoupled position unless the latch bolt is in latched position. Another object of this invention is to provide a vehicle body door lock having a member coupled to outside operating means and shiftable between coupled and uncoupled positions with respect to the detent means 3,495,863 Patented Feb. 17, 1970 ICC by means of a locking lever, and a blockingarrangement for blocking operation of the locking lever should the latch bolt be in unlatched position. A further o'bject of this invention is to provide a blocking member which is controlled by the position of the latch bolt of a vehicle body door lock 4for blocking uncoupling of the outside release means from the detent means when the fbolt is in unlatched position.

These and other objects of this invention will be readily apparent from the following specification and drawings wherein:

FIGURE l is a partial side elevational View of a vehicle body embodying a door lock according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partially broken away enlarged view of a portion of FIGURE 1 showing the lock in latched position;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the lock in unlatched position;

FIGURE 4 is a View taken generally along the plane indicated by line 4-4 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective view.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a vehicle body designated generally 10 includes a front door 12 hinged at its forward edge 14 to the body 10 for swinging movement between a closed position as shown and an open position, not shown. Door 12 is held in closed position by closure latch 16 according to this invention.

As 'best shown in FIGURES 2 through 5, the latch 16 includes a main frame 18 which abuts against the rear swinging wall vof door 12 and is bolted thereto by means of a number of bolts which extend through this wall into tapped openings 20 in the frame. An auxiliary frame 22 partially covers the frame 18 and is staked at 24 to an upper lateral flange 26 of the frame 18, at 28 to a side ange 30 of frame 18, and at 32 to a lower flange 34 of frame 18.

A fork type bolt 36 is swingably mounted on a pin 38 which extends between and is staked to frames 18 and 22. The bolt 36 is movable between a latched position, shown in FIGURE 2, and an unlatched position, shown in FIGURES 3 and 5. A coil torsion spring 40 surrounds the pin 38 and has one end hooked to a notched lateral tab 42 of frame 18 and the other end engaging an apertured lateral ange 44 of the bolt to continually bias the bolt to unlatched position,

A detent 46 is swingably mounted on a pin 48 which extends between and is staked to the frames 18 and 22. A coil torsion spring 5t) surrounds the pin 48 and has one end thereof engaging a notched lateral tab 52 of frame 18 and the other end thereof hooked under an arm 54 of the detent to continually bias the detent in a counterclockwise direction and thereby hold the detent foot 56 in engagement with a shoulder 58 of the bolt 36 to maintain the bolt in latched position, shown in FIGURE 2. The bolt also includes a secondary shoulder 60 which can be alternately engaged 4by the detent foot 56 to hold the bolt in intermediate latched position. When the bolt is in unlatched positio-n as shown in FIGURES 3 and 5, the foot 56 slidably engages an edge 62 of the bolt. The area of engagement between the detent foot 56 and the shoulders 58 and 60 is controlled by the engagement of a foot 64 of the detent with a rubber bumper 66 which is mounted on a lateral tab of the frame 18.

As shown in FIGURE 1, an outside door handle 68 is mounted on the outer panel of door 12 and incorporates push button operating means 70. This means includes a conventional push rod 72, indicated schematically in FIG- URE 5, which operates against an outside operating lever 74 when the push button means 70 is operated. Lever 74 is pivoted at 76 to a channel extension 78 of the frame 18 and includes an opening 80 which receives the laterally bent upper end 82 of an intermittent member 84 to pivotally and shiftably couple the lever 74 and the intermittent member. The lower end of the intermittent member includes a lateral tab 86 which underlies a shoulder 88 of the detent 46, when the intermittent member is in its coupled position as shown, so that operation of the lever 74 in a clockwise direction by the push rod 72 shifts the member 84 upwardly and in turn swings the detent 46 clockwise to release the detent foot 56 from the shoulder 58 and permit the bolt to move to unlatched position.

A locking lever 90 is pivoted at 92 to the auxiliary frame 22 and is adapted to be connected at 94 to a conventional outside key cylinder assembly 96, FIGURE 1, and at 98 to a conventional inside garnish button 100, FfIGURE 1. A coil type, overcenter torsion spring 102 is hooked between the locking lever and the frame 22 to locate the locking lever in either its unlocked position as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 or its locked position, not shown, which is slightly clockwise of the position shown. The locking lever is located in each position by the engagement of opposite edges of an arcuate slot 104 therein with a lanced lateral tab 106 of the frame 22.

The locking lever further includes a lateral tab 108 which is slidably received within a vertically elongated slot 110 in the intermittent member 84. When the locking lever is in unlocked position, the intermittent member is in the coupled position shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, and tab 86 underlies shoulder 88 as previously described. When the locking lever 90 is in its locked position, the intermittent member 84 is swung slightly clockwise about the aperture 80 so that tab 86 no longer underlies shoulder 88 to thus uncouple or disconnect the outside operating lever 74 and the detent 46.

The inside operating means includes an inside remote handle 112, FIGURE 1, which is connected by a shiftable rod 114 to the inside remote lever 116 which is pivoted at 118 to an extension 120 of the frame 22 and which underlies arm 54 of the detent 46.

A blocking member 126 is coaxially pivoted with the detent 46. The blocking member includes a anged sensor or foot 128. A coil tension spring 130 hooked between the flange of this foot and the flange 44 of bolt 36 is under tension at all times to continually bias the blocking member 126 counterclockwise about the pivot 48. The blocking member further includes a lateral arcuate ange 132 adjacent the foot 128 and a lateral tab 134 which extends outwardly through an arcuate slot 136 in the frame 22 to limit the rotational movement of the member 126.

When the bolt 36 is in latched position as shown in FIGURE 2, the locking lever 90 may be operated, if desired, to selectively couple and uncouple the outside operating means and the detent. vThe tension spring 130 maintains the blocking member 126 in its position shown so that the arcuate ange 132 of the member 126 is located counterclockwise of a flanged depending foot or eX- tension 138 of the locking lever. However, when the door is opened and the bolt moves to unlatched position, shown in FIGURE 3, the flange 44 of the bolt engages the ange of the foot 128 to rotate the member 126 clockwise about the pivot 48 so that the flange 132 overlies the foot 138 of the locking lever to block any movement of the locking lever clockwise about the pivot 92 to its locked position. Thus each time that the door is opened, the blocking member is positioned by the bolt to block any uncoupling of the outside operating means and the detent.

When the door is closed, clockwise movement of the bolt 36 to either its intermediate lacthed position or its fully latched position moves the ange 44 of the bolt out of engagement with the ilange of foot 128 and spring 130 rotates the member 126 to its unblocking position, shown in FIGURE 2, to permit the locking lever to be shifted if so desired.

In certain door locks, the inside operating means is coupled to the detent through the intermittent member, such as by a transfer lever coaxially pivoted with the detent and overlying the remote lever and a tab of the intermittent member. In locks of this type, the blocking arrangement of this invention will work equally as well to prevent any disconnection of the inside operating means and the detent each time that the door is opened.

Thus this invention provides an improved vehicle body door lock.

I claim:

1. A closure latch comprising, in combination, a support frame, bolt means mounted on the frame for movement between latched and unlatched positions, detent means mounted on the frame for movement between holding and released positions with respect to the bolt means, operating means, means operatively connected to the operating means and movable between coupled and uncoupled positions with respect to the detent means, a movable operator for moving the connecting means to uncoupled position, blocking means movable between blocking and unblocking positions with respect to the operator, and means positioning the blocking means in blocking position when the bolt is in unlatched position to block movement of the operator and maintain the connecting means in coupled position.

2. A closure latch comprising, in combination, a support frame, bolt means mounted on the frame for movement between latched and unlatched positions, detent means mounted on the frame for movement between holding and released positions with respect to the bolt means, operating means, means operatively connected to the opearting means and movable between coupled and uncoupled positions with respect to the detent means, a movable operator for moving the connecting means to uncoupled position, blocking means movable between blocking and unblocking positions with respect to` the operator, and means positioning the blocking means in blocking position when the bolt is in unlatched position to block movement of the operator and maintain the connecting means in coupled position, and alternately positioning the blocking means in unblocking position when the bolt is in latched position to permit movement of the movable operator.

3. A closure latch comprising, in combination, a support frame, bolt means mounted on the frame for movement between latched and unlatched positions, detent means mounted on the frame for movement between holdin-g and released positions with respect to the bolt means, operating means, means operatively connected to the operating means and movable between coupled and uncoupled positions with respect to the detent means, a movable operator for moving the connecting means to uncoupled position, blocking means movable between blocking and unblocking positions with respect to the operator, biasing means biasing the blocking means to unblocking position, and coacting means on the blocking means and the bolt means for moving the blocking means to blocking position against the bias of the biasing means to block movement of the operator and maintain the connecting means in coupled position.

4. A closure latch comprising, in combination, a support frame, a bolt mounted on the frame for movement between latched and unlatched positions, a detent pivotally mounted on the frame for movement between holding and released positions with respect to the bolt, an operating lever pivotally mounted on the frame, an intermittent member pivotally connected to the operating lever 5 and movable between coupled and uncoupled positions with respect to the detent, a locking lever movable between locked and unlocked positions to selectively and alternately move the intermittent member between uncoupled and coupled positions with respect to the detent, a blocking member pivotally mounted on the frame and including a sensor foot and a blocking portion, and means on the bolt engageable with the sensor foot upon movement of the bolt to unlatched position to rotate the blocking member to blocking positon wherein the blocking portion is located in the path of movement of the locking lever to block any movement thereof and maintain the intermittent member in coupled position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,421,785 l/l969 Slattery 292-216 RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner 

